CIS roundup

Excerpt: The following are considerations offered by someone engaged in the complex arena of Christian ministry. They are reflections by a Christian pastor, a minister in the Roman Catholic tradition, prompted by a statement on immigration issued in November 2007 by the three Bishops of Maryland — Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore, Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, and Michael A. Saltarelli of Wilmington — entitled “Where All Find a Home: A Catholic Response to Immigration.”

Excerpt: Based on our analysis of Census Bureau data, we estimate that there are 6.6 million uninsured illegal immigrants in the United States who could be covered by the new health care reform bill (HR 3200). Even though HR 3200 states that illegal immigrants are not eligible for the proposed taxpayer-funded affordable premium credits, there is nothing in the bill to enforce this. An amendment was defeated in committee that would have required the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, used by almost all other means-tested programs of this kind.

Excerpt: Immigration will affect and be affected by the health reform legislation being crafted in the U.S. House and Senate. There are around 12 million uninsured immigrants. Their presence means every provision designed to extend health coverage to those without insurance will potentially expand taxpayers’ costs by billions of dollars. Many immigrant households have children who are automatically eligible for government health care, even if their parents are here illegally.

Excerpt: As Congress and the nation debate health care reform, the impact of immigration policy is an important component of that discussion. This Memorandum provides information about immigration’s effect on the nation’s health care system. The analysis is primarily based on data collected by the U.S. government in March 2008 about insurance coverage in the prior calendar year (2007).

Excerpt: Since Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s speech on health care, the issue of whether illegal immigrants will be eligible to receive benefits has once again been thrust to the forefront. Steven Camarota, our Director of Research, explains what’s needed to verify immigration status in the video below.

Excerpt: On 9/11, I was in Old Town Alexandria, Va., celebrating the first morning of my son entering preschool. It wasn’t long before I noticed the cars coming south from the Pentagon, the smoke billowing into the air into clear blue skies, and the looks of fear and sadness on the faces of the drivers moving past me.

Excerpt: Watching President Obama’s health care speech before Congress Wednesday night, I was reminded of another President’s words.

As the President flatly asserted that illegal aliens are definitely not covered in health reform, I thought of Ronald Reagan’s jovial rejoinder when Jimmy Carter played fast and loose with the facts: ‘There you go again.’

Excerpt: The role of immigration as the leading source of population growth is a divisive issue among U.S. environmentalists. The Sierra Club, which once called for immigration policies aimed at stabilizing the population, has backed away from the issue. Others (see here, for instance) make the case that curtailment of immigration is essential to efforts to safeguard the environment.

Excerpt: Elected officials in Mexico often buy radio and TV time or use the Internet to distribute spots in which they describe their efforts to build a better future for their people. President Felipe Calderon has been particularly active with such efforts, including one on education that was released at the end of August and is posted on Youtube here.

Excerpt: The Economist’s website is hosting a ‘debate’ on the following proposition: ‘This house believes there is too much international migration.’ Arguing against the proposition is one Dr. Danny Sriskandarajah, Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, saying all the usual tranzi stuff. But what’s curious is the person selected to speak in support of the proposition: Demetri Papademetriou, head of the Migration Policy Institute, which is basically CIS’s counterpart on the high-immigration side of the debate. His opening paragraph:

Excerpt: Ann Corcoran over at Refugee Resettlement Watch points out that Refugees from Bhutan are the third-largest group of refugees resettled so far this year in the U.S. The perversity of this policy is clear when you learn that they’re ethnic Nepalese kicked out by the Bhutanese government and living in refugee camps in — Nepal! I’m sure Nepal’s glad to palm them off on us, but coping with their compatriots is their business, not ours. The State Department is using resettlement to serve a transnational human-rights agenda that has nothing to do with promoting our vital national interests. In effect, our foreign-policy elite views the actual United States as a sort of hinterland where they can dump their overseas problems.

Excerpt: The story Astronaut Jose Hernandez, the flight engineer on the Space Shuttle Discovery’s ongoing mission, is being told two ways in Mexico: one of pride in the accomplishments of the son of poor immigrants and one of pain because of the lack of opportunities in Mexico.

Excerpt: Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, discussed the issue of health care for illegal aliens on CNBC yesterday morning. Robert Shapiro, a former Undersecretary of Commerce, discussed from the opposing side. Their exchange is available in the video below.

Excerpt: Hurricane Jimena, now closing in on Baja California, is only the most dramatic of the threats confronting Mexico. Deepening unemployment and poverty, the brutal war between the government and drug cartels, and even looming water shortages all have ratcheted up the country’s anxiety and social tension.